Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is set to resign from his teaching post at Harvard University over links to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers will resign from his academic and faculty role at the university, relinquishing his University Professorship Harvard’s highest faculty distinction, reported student newspaper The Harvard Crimsonciting a varsity spokesperson.
The former US Treasury Secretary, who has been on leave since November, will continue to remain away from campus till his resignation takes effect at the end of the academic year.
Summers on Wednesday also resigned from his role at as co-director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, a position he has held since 2011.
Describing his exit as “difficult”, Summers told The Crimson in a statement that he was “grateful to the thousands of students and colleagues I have been privileged to teach and work with since coming to Harvard as a graduate student 50 years ago.”
Summers’ standing with Harvard started to decline from November last year after the Department of Justice’s release of a cache of emails revealed long-standing and frequent correspondence between Epstein and the former US Treasury Secretary, with conversations ranging from women, to politics, to Harvard-linked projects.
Around the same time, Summers parted ways with several organizations, including the New York Times, Bloomberg, and OpenAI.
He also faces a lifetime ban by the American Economic Association.
Summers is the latest high-profile personality to face consequences for ties to Epstein, with many top executives and public office holders either resigning or being fired since the release of the Epstein files.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Formerly a prince, Andrew was officially stripped of his royal titles late last year as a result of his ties to Epstein, and was most recently arrested (and later released) over suspicions of misconduct while in public office.
Andrew’s arrest came after Thames Valley Police said earlier in February that the it was looking into a claim that the then-prince had shared confidential documents with Epstein while he was serving as UK trade envoy in 2010.
The claim itself emerged from an email chain in the latest Epstein files release by the US DOJ.
While Andrew has denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein earlier, he has yet to comment on the latest batch of files or his arrest.
Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the US
Having been fired from his position as Britain’s ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson was arrested on 23 February.
Like the former prince Andrew, Mandelson is suspected to have passed off sensitive UK government information to disgraced financier Epstein.
Mandelson was fired from his job as ambassador last year after documents revealed the depth of his ties to Epstein.
Subsequently, he stepped down from the UK’s governing Labor Party on 1 February and as a member of the House of Lords two days later.
On 6 Feb, his former lobbying company announced it had severed all ties with him.
Mandelson denies any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, former chairman of DP World
Influential Emirati businessman and chairman of DP World, one of the world’s largest logistics companies, lost his chair recently after released documents revealed correspondence between the bin Sulayem and Epstein.
Some of the emails between the DP World chair and the disgraced financier have references to escorts, sexual massages, and porn, with Epstein even writing to bin Sulayem in 2009, “I loved the torture video.”
It’s unclear what the reference was, but authorities have thus far not accused bin Sulayem on any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
While DP World has named bin Sulayem’s replacement, it is unclear whether the sultan still remains with the company.
Thorbjørn Jagland, former prime minister of Norway
Thorbjørn Jagland, who was the prime minister of Norway in the 1990s and went on to head the Nobel Committee, also faced backlash after his ties to Epstein emerged from released files.
Emails showed Jagland taking repeated trips to the disgraced financier’s properties, including to the infamous island, with one revealing that the disgraced financier paid for one of Jagland’s family’s travel there in 2014.
After the emails surfaced, Jagland was stripped of diplomatic immunity, and has been charged with “gross corruption”.
The former PM, however, denies wrongdoing and has said he will fully cooperate with authorities in their investigation.
Mohamed Waheed Hassan, former president of the Maldives
Former Maldives president Mohamed Waheed Hassan resigned from his post as special envoy to current president Mohamed Muizzu after the latest emails showed correspondence with Epstein regarding financial guidance.
Hassan, as per NBCwas mentioned over 600 times, and resigned days after the release of the files.
The former president told the news outlet that he’d been unaware of Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
“Though I only ever sought advice on professional and finance matters, I regret not only any association, but any legitimacy I may have inadvertently afforded him through my engagement with him. I never witnessed any illicit activity and was only ever cordial with him in the context of a professional relationship,” Hassan was quoted as saying.
Kathy Ruemmler, former chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs
A former White House counselor in the Obama administration, Kathy Ruemmler resigned from the position of chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs on February 12 after newly remails revealed a friendly relationship with Epstein.
Ruemmler’s name appeared in dozens of email exchanges between Epstein and his assistant, and she even referred to the disgraced financier as Uncle Jeffrey.
“I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!” Ruemmler wrote to Epstein’s assistant in a 2015 email.
“I got to know him as a lawyer and that was the foundation of my relationship with him. One of his clients became my client too, we regularly worked together, and he asked me for advice as many people do,” she said in a statement in February.
Ruemmler denies having any knowledge of criminal conduct on Epstein’s part and has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement.
Thomas Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt Hotels
Billionaire Thomas Pritzker on 16 February announced his resignation from his role as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp, after files released by the DOJ revealed long associations with Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
Pritzker had held the post since 2004, and in his resignation said he regretted his association with the disgraced financier and his accomplice.
“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret. I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” the 75-year-old said.
Emails showed Pritzker remained in touch with Epstein years after his 2008 conviction, and the billionaire has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Brad Karp, former chairman of Paul, Weiss
American lawyer Brad Karp on 4 Feb resigned as the chairman of prestigious law firm Paul, Weiss, a post he had held since 2008.
“Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm,” Karp said in a statement released by the firm.
Karp’s resignation came in the wake of newly released emails that showed correspondence with Epstein and his assistant spanning multiple years.
In one email, Karp even thanked the disgraced financier for “an evening I’ll never forget” and thanked him for being an “extraordinary host”.
Karp has not been charged with wrongdoing by law enforcement.
Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Media Group
In the wake of backlash over his ties to Epstein, Hollywood mogul Casey Wasserman on 14 February announced that he was putting his talent agency up for sale.
“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” Wasserman wrote in a memo to the Wasserman Media Group staff, with newly released email revealing correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell.
However, Wasserman’s conversations with Maxwell took place over two decades ago, “long before her horrific crimes came to light”, with the mogul saying that he did not have a “personal or business relationship” with Epstein.
Wasserman has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and is currently the chair of the LA28 Olympic Committee, which has dismissed calls for his resignation.
